


You Forfeit All Rights

by Ghostly_Crystals



Series: Burn [5]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Author has no clue how to tag, F/M, M/M, Sokka makes some poor life choices, Written at a more reasonable time, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, angst no comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostly_Crystals/pseuds/Ghostly_Crystals
Summary: Zuko had long given up on sleeping that night. While looking for some kind of comfort in the past, a visitor enters his office.Author still has no clue how to write summaries.
Relationships: Sokka/Oc (mentioned), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Burn [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893265
Comments: 15
Kudos: 93





	You Forfeit All Rights

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *Looks at the comments on the last part*   
> Me: This one sparks joy.   
> Me: *Looks at my ever decreasing writing skill and realizes I’m going to disappoint some people*  
> Me: This one does not spark joy. 
> 
> ANYWAY! You guys were really nice in the comments and it literal made my online classes on Monday so much more bearable. I apologize in advance if this is messy/ doesn’t live up to your expectations ^^’. Like the last part, I’ll probably rewrite it depending on how I feel this weekend. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It had been way past midnight when Zuko had finally given up on sleeping. 

With heavy bones, Zuko pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. For a moment, he just sat there. His brain felt numb, while his heart seemed to scream it’s pain away. He was sure the sheets of the bed would be velvety and soft, but he couldn’t feel their usual texture. Finally, Zuko stood. The floor was surely cold, but it all seemed muffled. The colors could be considered grey-scale and everything just felt wrong. 

With near silent steps, he walked to the window and pulled the curtains open. He had been expecting the soft light of the moon, however he was met with clouds in the sky. Somewhere under all the apathy, something twitched in twisted amusement. Of course Yue would be dissatisfied. Agni, she was probably the first person to know. In a way, Zuko had felt like the very last person to know. What had Lu said? That Sokka sent it to every noble? 

Who had overheard the readings? Surely every servant in Caldera city had gone home and told their family. Word travels fast, especially if the letter has the Royal stamp on it. This time, Zuko scoffed at the thought. Everyone had known long before him. With movements that didn’t feel like his own, Zuko walked to the door of his temporary room. With precise movements, he made it to the door and pushed it opened. 

Outside his door, two guards stood. As soon as the door opened, their heads stayed facing forward,no doubt unsurprised their Firelord wasn’t asleep. Zuko couldn’t bring himself to care. Without closing the door behind him, Zuko continued his solo trek down the corridor. To the guards he passed, he appeared tired or apathetic. Inside, he felt shocked full of lightening for the third time. This time, no one had actually shot it at him. Zuko figures Sokka may as well just have shot him with the lightening or stabbed him, it would’ve hurt less. 

There was a sudden breeze, causing a chill to creep down Zuko’s spine. He pulled his sleep robe closer to himself, thankful that he kept a light shirt on under it. The breath of fire would’ve come in handy if Zuko’s emotions hadn’t been running rapid. Sadness had settled down but it was still there. The tears had dried ages ago, leaving a consuming fire to rage on. 

Zuko reaches his office, a boulder of dread sinking in his sea of a stomach. With steady hands, he reached for the doorhandle and pulled it open. He slipped inside silently, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the completely dark room. With a deep breath, Zuko focused his burning energy to his right hand. The fire quickly came to life, heating the cold air in the room. 

Zuko strided past his desk, it’s surface still unorganized from earlier that evening. He tried to ignore the pamphlet still laying there as he reignited the fireplace. With a source of fire now blazing, Zuko extinguished the fire in his palms. With stiff movements, the young Firelord pushed his chair back towards his desk. Carefully, he sat down and looked down at the pamphlet. He just sat there and stared, stared as though he could burn it with his mind. 

Broken out of his trance, Zuko reached to the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled out a box. With a slight tremble in his hands, he removed the lid of the box and pulled out as many letters as he could. With his hands being full, he used his elbows to push any papers in order to make space. Once creating a clear space on the desk, he sets the letters down. Now that he can see each of them, it’s easy to tell which ones were oldest. Some of the paper was turning yellow, the ink fading ever so slightly. 

Maybe it’s the pain in him looking for relief, maybe it’s the urge to disappear from the humiliation, or maybe it’s the wanting to doubt this even happened. For one reason or another, he begins reading the oldest letters. 

His hands shake, just barely and each word he reads is more acid shooting into his veins. The ‘I love you’s only add more fuel for his fire. Each ‘Forever yours’ is a slap to the face. He sets down the first letter, and ponders how long forever is. Is forever forever, or was it just how ever long Sokka said it was? 

For some reason, the thought makes his hands curl into fists. 

Zuko moves on to the second letter, pretending the lies written in this one are true. He had been halfway through when the door squeaked open. The Firelord kept his gaze on the letter, knowing who it was by the blue in his peripheral vision. Something ugly and malicious roars it’s head, just under his skin. Without looking up, he grabs the pamphlet and hides it under a nearby paper. 

“Hey my love, how was your day?” Zuko’s voice sounds wrong to himself. The tone is casual and has slight exhaustion in it. Neither are true, the coil of emotions in his stomach and the eternal flame burning in him disprove it. Finally, Zuko looks up. Gold eyes meet blue and Zuko watches as Sokka comes to the realization. Zuko pretends he doesn’t know. 

“H-hey, it was good how was yours?” Sokka has never been a good actor. If this had been any other day, Zuko just may have believed him. Today was not any other day and the young Firelord was sick of all the lies. Gold eyes tracked the blue, watching like a ratviper waiting to strike. Sokka sat down at the chair in front of him, looking anywhere but at the gold eyes. 

“It had been good,” Sokka pales just slightly. “,Azula was able to go see a play with me. Of course, she really just spent the whole time talking about how stupid the main character was.” Zuko forces a small smile on his face, it feels wrong. How could someone this angery smile like this? Something in him whispers ‘Ozai.’ “Do you want to know the worst part?”

“Sure..” Sokka sounds almost hesitant, suspensous even. Without missing a beat, Zuko pulls the pamphlet out from under the table. As aggressively as he could, he slides it to the man who wrote it. “The worst part is that my husband decided to let everyone know that he loves another person before he told me.” Zuko’s face is blank, a mask. His voice however, is laced with venom and anger. He watches as Sokka pales even more. Something in him whispers good. 

“Every noble, Sokka what were you thinking?” The question is yelled, and Zuko isn’t even aware of it. Behind him, the fire flares. Sokka has the audacity to look scared. “I wasn’t I’m sorr-,” Sokka doesn’t get the chance to finish. He doesn’t deserve the chance to finish. 

“No, you’re not. Stop lying to me, that’s what got us here in the first place!” For some reason, that sentence brings a bitter laugh out of Zuko. “After The Boiling Rock, I knew I loved you. You were happy with Suki and I respected that.” The fire behind him went down, but the fire inside grew in size. “I respected your happiness, and what did you do? You turned around and slept with some woman you didn’t even know.” 

Another joyless chuckle escapes Zuko’s mouth. The man across from him looked guilty. “So tell me, Ambassador Sokka,” The title and name were spat with anger, “how was she? Did she beg? Did her moans fill your head for days? Do you think about her while I was laying right beside you?” Zuko stands, leaving his chair pushed away from his desk. With whisper quiet steps, he paced in front of the fireplace, turning to face it as he awaited an answer. 

“No, Zuko it wasn’t like that. I got drunk and I got upset and she was there. It was an accident, you have to believe me.” With a glance over his shoulder, Zuko noted the desperation written so clearly on his husbands face. His response only made him more angry. 

“How was that an accident? Did you just trip and fall and suddenly you were in bed with her? Of course she did. I see how everyone looks at you. I see how you look back.” Zuko turned away from the crackling fire, instead facing his liar of a husband. “Her husband was bribing me. He said that if I paid him, he wouldn’t tell you.” Desperation made Sokka’s voice just a little higher. If Zuko had been any other member of his family, he would’ve taken the striked nerve and abused it. 

The numbness was back, a wave putting out the fires raging in Zuko. “And how long did this go on?” Without anger, his voice sounded melancholy, defeated. He thought this had been the worst of it, the anger and the never ending questions of ‘what did he do wrong?’ Surely it was all over. At the next answer, Zuko felt like a match just got set in him. A match of anger catching on the gasoline of his sadness and grief. 

“...Six months.” 

Scrolls upon scrolls have been written about his family’s history of a temper. Firelord Sozin began an entire war from it. Uncle used his to hold siege against Ba Sing Se for six hundred days. Ozai used his to burn half of his face. Azula used hers to strike lightening through him. 

With Zuko’s anger, he grabbed one of Sokka’s letters, turned towards the fire, and proceeded to threw it into the fire. For a moment, the only sound to fill the air was the cracking of the fire. “I guess I don’t know you as well as I thought.” Zuko crossed his arms, hugging himself as tears raced down the left side of his face. Tears from what? He couldn’t tell you, the Firelord had assumed the tears had dried. 

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” With a voice dripping with rage, and another turn around, the Firelord grabbed another letter and hurled it towards the center of Sokka’s chest. “How is a country supposed to follow a leader who can’t even keep his own husband satisfied?” Zuko stared once more into the fire, watching as it consumed the letters. He must’ve spaced out for a moment, because when he spaces back in, a hand his on his shoulder. 

“Zuko, I’m sorry I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you. What can I do?” 

Zuko flinched away from the touch, as though Sokka’s hand would burn him like so many before. “Don’t touch me!” The scarred man hissed. “What can you do? Tomorrow morning, you can write to Katara and Aang, and ask them to give you a ride on Appa back to the Southpole. In the three days it takes them to get here, I don’t want to see you.” 

Zuko held eye contact with Sokka, wondering if the broken expression on his face was the same one Zuko had hours ago. Nothing in him felt the need to apologize, because Sokka knew that this was wrong. “When the time comes, I want you to look all of our friends, all of your family, in the eye and tell them what you did.” The tears were still rolling now, Zuko realized that the anger was fueling them completely. His voice rang in the room, the hurt and anger making themselves heard. 

“I will address this in public once, and never again. Every single historian will wonder how I reacted to this behind closed doors.” Zuko turned to his desk, and wiped his tears on the back of his hand. Now free of tear-blurred vision, he picked up once of the newer scrolls and unraveled it with shaking hands. He knew what this one was. It was the last letter sent before Sokka had proposed. Zuko held the letter in his right hand with his left, he reached towards the necklace and tugged it off. 

“And Sokka?” Zuko turned towards Sokka and noted without an ounce of regret, that tears were flowing down his blue eyes. Something in him thought Sokka deserved it, after all he was the one that lost Zuko. Zuko gained everything from this, so why did it hurt so much? 

“I hope the guilt burns you up inside,” Zuko begins, lighting the edge of the scroll aflame with his palm. “,and if you ever think I was yours within the past six months,” Zuko threw the remainder of the letter into the fireplace. With the necklace, he shoved it into Sokka’s hands. 

“Don’t. You lost me the second your hands were on her.” 

With cold apathy, Zuko leaves the room. Leaving behind everything that had been weighing him down. 

So, walking back to his temporary room, why did he feel so heavy?

**Author's Note:**

> How was it? I thought the talking could use some work. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and stay safe :)
> 
> \- Ghostly


End file.
